Ololiuqui

Originating in Hamburg, Germany, the psy trance duo Ololiuqui united two seasoned musicians, Volker Koenig and Oliver Elschenbrioch, whose earlier work had encompassed rock, reggae, and blues before they shifted toward electronic experimentation. Keyboards had occupied both players in outfits such as HH Style, Neuwerk, Factor, and Tranceformation from 1984 onward. They launched Ololiuqui in 1996 and at once began cutting tracks for the city’s celebrated Goa label Spirit Zone, earning placements on three of its compilations—Global Psychedelic Trance Comp. Vol. III and the two volumes of the Tathata series. The project’s name traces to the Mexican LSD-like substance Ololiuqui, extracted from seeds of a certain morning glory variety, a choice that aligned with the psychedelic aesthetic the pair cultivated. Their debut release, the self-titled album issued by Spirit Zone in 1997, adhered to a fairly traditional psy trance approach. After Elschenbrioch effectively retired from the group, Koenig steered Ololiuqui toward wider terrain on the 1999 full-length Valves, which retained a solid trance core while adding funk, disco, and house elements together with beautiful, operatic vocals.